‘Chaos’: Travellers at UK airports face delays following high temperatures

Heathrow Airport warned of disruption as the UK reached record-breaking temperatures on Thursday.

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Delays and queues at Heathrow Airport

Passengers complained of “chaos” as delays and cancellations hit UK airports on Thursday and Friday following extreme weather.

A new temperature record for July was set after the mercury reached 36.9C (98.4F) at Heathrow Airport on Thursday, which was followed by thunderstorms in some parts of the country on Thursday evening.

Heathrow Airport tweeted: “Due to extreme weather conditions across Europe this evening, Heathrow and other airports are experiencing delays and cancellations to flights.”

Due to extreme weather conditions across Europe this evening, Heathrow and other airports are experiencing delays and cancellations to flights. We’re very sorry for the disruption and advise you to contact your airline for more information.

Craig Beale, 30, from Reading, was scheduled to fly from Frankfurt to Heathrow on Thursday.

He told PA: “It was mentioned as delayed at boarding gate as the previous flight was cancelled in the afternoon and this plane was completely full… the crew were providing water, thank God.

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“Finally arriving at 2.25 BST, more than six hours after our scheduled landing time.”

@HeathrowAirport, you are a joke! No staff on hand to help thousands of stranded customers. All bags not returned to customers. A queue of over 1000 people for taxi's. How can you leave people like this?! @BBCNews time to shame this abmisimal service pic.twitter.com/T3Y1dVjDV6

“We could have flown easily with a more efficient system on the ground before the storm hit. Or taken another route to avoid the storm.”

Severe thunderstorms are causing significant delays and cancellations to our operation in and out of London. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers. If your flight has been disrupted, please call our helpline on +44 203 250 0145

Alana Gomez, spokeswoman for travel comparison website Jet Cost, said: “Whilst passengers are justifiably aggrieved by the lengthy delays, they must understand that in these situations the safety of the passengers and crew is paramount, and the conditions felt yesterday made it dangerous to fly.”

Great Northern, Thameslink, East Midland Trains and West Midlands Trains warned of fewer carriages on some services, cancellations and disruption due to high temperatures.

Network Rail said: “Passengers are strongly advised to consider alternative travel arrangements and only travel if their journey is absolutely necessary.”

Temperatures reached up to 38.1C (100.6F) in parts of the UK on Thursday, however the weather is expected to keep within the mid-20s to the low 30s range on Friday.